♪ . >> this is al jazeera america. live from new york city. enough is enough. >> president obama applauds the move to change filibuster rules. u.s. troops staying in afghanistan, but president karzai introduced a possible snag. a father says their elderly father is being held by north korea. >> a historic day on capitol hill, as the senate makes it's biggest

the controversial move will end the grid lock over the president's executive and judicial picks. libby casey joins us now from capitol hill with more on is significance of this move. great to see you, the president certainly didn't waste much time reacting to the vote, did he? >> that's right. he was supportive of it. now pack in 2005, when mr. obama was senator obama ma, he was actually opposed to changing the rules regarding the filibuster. using the so call nuclear option, but the white house says times have changed because the republicans in their words have become more obstructionist. >> it's harming our economy, and our democracy, and it has brought us to the point where a similar majority vote no longer seems to be sufficient for anything. even routine business. >> a lot of pub back from republicans including senator john mccain who

of course ran against mr. obama for the white house. john mccains say not only causes problems, here is john mccain. >> what we really did today and what is so damning and will last for a long time that could permanently change the unique aspects of this institution, the united states senate, is if a majority and change the rules then only a majority can change the rules, then there are no rules. so tony, what changed today. in the past, this morning when we started the session here in the senate. it took 60 votes to overcome a filibuster threat, what senator reid did is pushed that to 51. so 51 can move something forward, like an

executive branch appointment that the president is trying to make. democrats say they won't use it for supreme court nominees or laws, bills, just use it to get these court positions filled. >> libby casey, appreciate it. i have to tell you, there's been plenty of talk about the filibuster, but it's taken on new urgency in recent years. randall pinkston is here now waya bit of background on this. >> yes, a little stroll through history. traditionally the filibuster has been used to allowing a senator to hold the floor, which means any senator can block a bill by speaking as long as necessary. the record filibuster set in 1957 was 24 hours 18 minutes. these days senates don't have to speak, they just have to make a motion to proceed, which does the same effectively blocking passage of nominations.

for more than 50 years filibusters and culture votes were relatively rare, but by 1972, during the administration of nixon, you see the first spike in the use of the vote. 20 years later, another leap during the political contention administration of president bill clinton, and then there was a dramatic increase in the last two years of the administration of president george w bush. interestingly, votes have actually declined even as some of his initiatives have been stalled. until today, as libby mentioned it took 3/5th of the senate, to stop all filibusters. be uh with so much grid lock, they have been threatening to loiter vote to 51, and he took the first step. towards that goal, by changing the votes needed

to stop filibusters for presidential nominations. >> terrific. that is a terrific walk through history. >> randall, thank you. >> well done. >> afghan president says he doesn't trust the united states, but he is willing to let american troops -- urged tribal leaders to approve a deal that will allow forces to stay for another decade, but even if the leaders say yes, sir, karzai says he won't sign the treatment, just yet. now from the white house with reaction to his move to the latest signing the bill. why would he want to wait on this? how does it benefit him or his country? >> well, if you ask some people around here, or up on capitol hill, they look at it at another thumb into the united states eye, one in a series over the last several years. the longest war in

american history being fought on afghan seal. it is how that war is prosecuted as the united states and afghanistan try to come to an agreement on what the status of forces what american forces will look like at the end of next year, of course, that is the often promised date by which president obama said will end combat negotiations. as a matter of fact, the president wrote him a letter that president karzai sited repeatedly. we have reached an agreement, on the text of an agreement about the status of u.s. forces. the one brought up by karzai in particular. nato forces over the course of last several years. sometimes into the homes of afghan filibuster civilians looking for opposition fighters. that obviously now a very sensitive issue. and the president wrote in his letter to karzai, i know that you have been concerned for some time to limit the impact of

the conflict in afghanistan, on the afghan people. with particular attention to the sensitive issue of the privacy of people in their homes. we will continue to make every effort to respect the sangtity of afghans in their home and in their daily lives just as we do for our own citizens. white house spokesperson gave us a glimpse of what their job is likely to be. >> they will have a very specific mission. we will not be in a position of patrolling mountain ranges. rather, there will be a very specifically described mission. that mission will be focused on counter terrorism. fighting the remanence of al quaida, that does

persist, that continues to pose a threat. >> so it boils dune to 24, when will the afghan government agree to this, when will karzai sign it. he says he wants to see the election take place, he won't be standing for election. the problem is that throws the whole timetable off in terms of where they will be based. >> just curious, was it unusual step for the president to send this letter? well, this being interpreted as an apology, it appears to be something less than that, the context of iraq, when the obama administration, at the end of the u.s. military involvement, failed to come to a similar agreement, immunity for u.s. troops beings one of them, the american military doesn't want their forces tried in courts in that nation. they want them tried by the american military, so the administration is very eager not to see a replay of that they want

to have a force there for all the reasons that the spokes men just described. >> okay, appreciate it. thank you, and trying to keep track of what is going on in afghanistan is not an easy task. back now to the video, the troop count, and where it stems right now. >> obama was elected to end wars. >> yeah, that's what he says. >> let's see how he got on with those numbers. gabbing in december of 2001, and the immediate after math of the 9/11 attacks new york and pennsylvania. now, it isn't clear, exactly how many foreign forces will remain in afghanistan, after 2014, what we do know is that as of now, just under 90,000 troops make up the nato force there, and they come from 49 nato member countries. we know this because the figures come from the international security force. which is in afghanistan right now.

now, germany, and turkey, are all major contributors but lit come as no surprise to you, to learn that the biggest contributor is the united states. now the extra 33,000 troops that he sent for that search, have now been withdraw, and so washington is continuing almost on a daily basis to wind down right through the early part of next year, to this figure. of 34,000 troops, that's the target. and then roughly half of that, will start coming home here to the u.s. by the end of 2014. leaving somewhere between 15 and 20,000 troops.

maybe even a little more. including turkey, which is mostly muslim. which is important when dealing with afghanistan. >> 14 u.s. senators say plan to push a bill imposing new sanctions on iran. this as negotiators from six world powers are holding talks in geneva. they are reviewing a draft of a preliminary deal to curb iran's nuclear program. more now from geneva. >> it was the european union that seemed to take center stage today here in geneva. one on one talked between the e.u. representative and the iranian delegation were predominately what happened here. we do know from the u.s. that there was no by lateral directly between the u.s. and iran today. how, all together possible that the u.s. joined in in meetings between ashton and her iranian counter part. so there's -- it's been

interesting to note, the dynamics and the makeup of the talks. also been interesting to learn that there are apparently a draft agreement. now, that draft agreement is far from a completed text. we are told that they are working on the finer points. there is still very con ten, issues but the fact that they are working on the actual language of a potential agreement, leads me 20 believe that mrs. some significance progress being made here. >> joining us now to discuss the later talks. he is the founder and president of the american iranny -- i am smiling because it is great to see you again. >> thank you. >> and beyond that, it was a week or so ago that you were here last. >> that's right. >> and i asked you point blank, what do you think of the chances of there being a deal, and you said there's not going to be a deal, don't be silly young man. there's not going to be a deal. okay, so they are at it again, led by the united

states, and the iranian negotiators. >> they are reviewing a draft right now. >> that's right. >> on a proposed deal, what are your thoughts? is well, let's put it this way, i would give it a 50/50 chance. >> better than a week ago. >> right. >> because both sides particularly the iranian side has taken a lot of the state's back. so they are compromising on a lot of issue. >> tell me how. >> insisting that in any agreement, it's rights to. >> -- >> not only that, and now it says -- that right in the written agreement, what you have to do is to "respect that right." >> yeah. >> means you would let me practically do some of that.

>> why such a concession? >> two reasons. first, rohanny government has made the success in this negotiation. everything of this government, so that it's his government, that mr. rue hanie has made it like this succeeding in this negotiation, is the failing and succeeding in his own administration. so that is a major, he has put all his baskets -- >> all of his eggs in one basket. is he putting too much on the table here? is he weakening his negotiation hand? >> the problem is the more you weaken yourself at the negotiation table, the more the other side will ask for more. >> and the reason this is happening because -- of the internal politics and

the fact that the economy in the country has been devastated. >> yes, the problem is the economy is not devastated just because of the sames. it is because of mismanagement. >> awe. >> so this guys can not manage the economy. >> back through the years. >> what are they getting out of this negotiation? nothing. they are just giving in. it is just funny that the public is just sitting on the table, and saying okay, what do you want. you wanted this and that, and what can i take. well, you request take only a little piece. >> so there is another sticking point, because the ideas would iran push

to reprocess, right? let me have you listen to the soundbite. i spoke with hussein yesterday. and he was part of the negotiating. >> yeah, i know. a friend of mine. >> he is your neighbor. >> yes. >> so let's listen to what he had to say to us yesterday, and then have me react to it. >> if iran accepts not to have reprocessing no separation, this can with a break through, and this can bring the deed to final. >> is that happening? is iran even coming off its position on the iraq heavy war facility? >> listen, put it this way. to be very clear about it. iran has a nuclear reactor called bushar nuclear plant. >> yes. >> which is 40 years now old.

40 years they have put money and resources in it, and they haven't even produced an excellent -- of -- ethnicity from it. now, this facility is really history. >> realry? >> it will never ever come to work. absolutelily never. i think the american concern about the reactor it is a smoke screen. >> they just should forget about it. >> so 50/50 is not 70% is not 80%, so what could still crop up here to fore stall a deal? >> i think iran's right to impeach is their main issue. i think why the foreign minister has said you don't have to right it, other than acknowledgement, but in tehran, back in tehran, his bosses are saying no way.

saying amir ahmad di is the founder and if the of the -- always good to talk to you. >> a truly bizarre story out of london. a trim overseas, turns into a nightmare for one american family. a man says his father, an 85-year-old former u.s. vet is being detained in north korea.

jeff, just as he wasson about to leave the country. melissa chen is following

the country for us. melissa. >> well, what is really tragic about all of this is this could all be because of a cultural misunderstanding with the north korean senior threat where there is none. >> for north koreans the war did not end more than 50 years ago. instead, the u.s. threat remains eminent. the military stands ever ready to fight. and the authoritarian propaganda ministry indoctrinates its citizens with that version of reality. that's the world a korean war veteran walked into, visiting the country as a tourist, he apparently told his tour guide about his service. a harmless thing of the past to him, but clearly a present issue for north korean officials. newman's traveling companion issued this statement. >> in has to be a terrible misunderstanding. i hope that the north koreans will see this as a humanitarian matter and allow him to return to his family. as soon as possible. >> and the state

department also responded. >> we are aware of reports that a u.s. citizen was detained in north korea, we have no additional information to share at this time. >> the united states special on i have made these comments on the detention. >> it is an indication that north korea seems not to be seeking a better relationship with the united states. that they are not taking actions to address our concerns on american citizens being held in north korea. >> the government may also decide to keep new mapp, imprisoning him as they did american kenneth bay. that would be up to its leader kim john. >> any negotiations the koreans have with the

quite, will take quite a bit of weeks. >> melissa chen for you, a massive cargo plane. after it made the mistake of landing at the wrong airport last night. the boeing jet was supposed to land at mcconnell air force base, but it missed its destination by nine miles. and said it landed at jabara airport, which doesn't handle some large planes. i was nine miles south. >> yes, sir, you just landed at the other airport. >> the ffa is still trying to figure out what exactly went wrong. slow sales at some of the largest retailers could mean big wins for consumers for the

holidays. ali valshi will be talking about this in greater detail, on his program real money. >> i wanted to hear more about that. >> that plane. >> how did that happen? >> i just want -- i am very curious what the conversation was after that. >> at some point someone said oops right. >> so alli, what can we shoppers expect in the coming weeks in. >> well, we have a bit of an oops going on here as well. a company i get a lot of information from, called i.h.s. global. and right now it is all predictions about how things will go in the holiday season, but they are predicting a sales rise of 3.2% compared to last year, now if that's true that would make the weakest holiday sales growth since 2009. i want to be clear here. we have been getting higher and higher growth. this has been the smallest growth since 2009, we just come out of that recession. so there's a bunch of

forecasts. a bunch of retailer whose are worried about -- they are scrambling now to attract shoppers and that probably means tony that we are going to get what they call more promotional. more aggressive t.v. ads and discounts. we know wal-mart is starting their discounts for black friday, this friday, which is not black friday, i don't know what color we call this. it is a week before black friday. so i think you will see a very promotional shopping season. >> so given these concerns, right, are you scratching your head at all about -- the new highs for the stock market? 16,000 for the first time. >> this is a bifurcated. able to buy property and get those continues low mortgage rates you can do upon nominally well, but other people who are

worried about losing their jobs are the ones that have been pulling back on spending. and that's what has everyone concerned. so you know, tony, this is definitely a time where one had nothing to do with the other. what is going on in the stock market is a different story, and what is going on in the main streets of america. it is real money, top of the hour right here on al jazeera. good afternoon. it is going to get extremely messy akron the planes in northern texas. it hasn't happened yet, but watch what happened just with the temperatures when i put this into motion. you can see them dropping with the cold front, hour by hour, as we go to tomorrow morning what was about 60-degrees is now turning into 26 here in

lubic. and we will be seeing that temperature really start to go down even down here towards san antonio t a about 46. now the big problem is we have a cold front moving through, with this we will get a mix of precipitation going to get rain, going to get sleet, we will get freezing rain, and get snow the warnings are already out. winter storm warnings watches and warnings are out, as well as a lot of winter weather advisory. if you are traveling on highway 20, or on highway 40, you need to be careful. it is going to be very slick. tony, back to you. >> kevin, appreciate it. mark morgan is here now with a look at the sports headlines and the story around this heisman trophy candidate gets more and more disturbing. >> it does. the dna provided by florida state quarterback

james winston matches the dna sample from the underway of the woman who was -- who has accused him of sexual assault. that according to an analysis by the florida department of law enforcement. winston's attorney says he is not surprised by this development. jansen says his client has never denied being at the scene of the alleged incident back in december of 2012. state attorney says the investigation continues and he was scheduled to be interviewed somewhere today. stormed out of his grievance hearing with major league baseball. his lawyers without a-rod in attendance wrapped up their case defending him against the assertions that he took performance enhancing drugs. the attorneys say regardless of the ruling they will take the case to federal court. and the miami dolphins announced that the organization and ritchie incognito agreed to

postpone his grievance hearing. incognito currently suspended by the dolphins for his alleged harassment of jonathan martin. >> all right, thank you. coming up, surgeons that desperately tried to save president kennedy. >> i saw mrs. kennedy sitting on a folding chair outside trauma room one. >> two doctors that became part of history on november 22nd, 1963 share their story.

jazeera america.to al afghan president is urging his country's tribal leaders to approve a security agreement with the u.s., despite mistrust on both sides. if the deal is approved some american troops could stay in afghanistan past 2014. 15 u.s. senators say they want to increase sames on iran as soon as possible, meanwhile, six nations

including america are talking about reducing sanctions. they are trying to work on a deal designed to curb iran's nuclear program. the u.s. senate made history by approving the biggest rule change in decades. revising filibuster rules the move comes after republicans continually block the president's executive and judicial nominations. now lit take the similar majority vote to approve most appointments. joining me now to discuss this historic decision, is al jazeera political contributor, michael, great to see you. and let's see here, give me your take on the move by the senate, democrats in the senate to revise the rules. >> well, my take is that it had been threatening for such a long time, eventually lar harry reid to keep his caucus behind him, and also for the value of a threat, has to do with this was the right time to do it. patricia millet who is a judge was going to be put on the d.c. circuit

court, also i would say trivia answer for people who want to know what was the cause the nuclear option. over and over, they were turning away these nominations. it had to happen at a sen point. >> so what is the blow back? will it lead to even angrier partisan bickering in washington? if you can imagine that? >> well that's the thing. everybody said oh, what is going to happen to bipartisan ship. bipartisanship doesn't exist. so it doesn't threaten that at all. maybe from this point, from an actual low, they can build up and become bipartisan. but to say this will ruin by tar pi sanship, i think that's foolish, because we all know it doesn't exist. in terms of is blow back, if i were the republicans i would not concentrate on this. maybe for a day, one news cycle, okay, go back to obama-care, that's where they were hitting their stride. >> it's attraction, right. >> yeah, exactly.

that's the traction they needed. they aren't going to get it on something that most of the americans don't understand, and if they think about it, as such, all it is is a majority, and that sounds aren't to many americans. so they the majority rules. >> let's play it out a little bit. is this a risk going into the 2014 election cycle? let's just say, hypothetically, if republicans regain control, of the senate, would that give them a lot more leverage over the democratics moving forward? and if that's the case, does this come back to haunt democrats and then be perceived as short sited? >> there's always a risk to this. it was a risk to whatever party capitol hill did this nuclear option. what they are calling it. you know, disalways a risk. but the risk is going to happen at any time. if they believe in the institution, as this great body, all they do is deliberate.

so the senate is the greatest body in the word, all they do is deliberate they don't get anything done. yes, there is a risk. one thing that nobody is talking about, which i think is fascinating in terms of the political drama, let's say november comes around, and 2014, the democrats actually lose the senate, well, there's still a lame duck session that happens between election day, where presumably the same democrats can vote to end that, and they still have the majority. but then the new senate comes in and undo it. so i think there is a risk, but i think it is probably the right thing, and people will rapt that. >> that's how we will end our segments together from now of give something that people aren't talking about at all, or aren't talking about enough. good to see you. thank you janet yellen is now a virtual lock to be the next chair of the federal reserve. today the senate banking committee voted to approve her commission. the new filibuster rules means she is all but certainly to be

confirmed. she will then become the first woman to chair the fed. at the end of january, a group of 3, are the first women to finish at intense marine corps program in north carolina. the infin tri-combat school gets them ready for war. the pilot course was designed to see if they could serve while carrying heavy equipment, but the women won't go to a unit just yet, they will start in noncombat jobs. a manage and woman, in england are accused of keeping three women as slaves for 30 years and it is hard to believe, the women were found in october and set free today. police arrested their alleged captors. the latest now on the investigation. >> the police officer in charge of this case has described it as the most serious and worst case of its kind that he has ever experienced.

in terms of how long the women were held, three decades held in slavery, ray patiently without close neighbors realizing what was going on, this all took place in a nontranscript house on an ordinary london street. 30 years the women were held, they had some limited freedom, but it was very limited. and i understand that during that time, that they were abused both physically, and mentally. although there's no suggestion of sexual abuse in this case. this is what the police officer heading this inquiry had to say earlier. >> these are deeply traumatized people, and it is essential that we work sensitively to establish the facts in this case. when we have established the facts, we conducted the arrests this morning.

all three women were held in this situation for 30 years. >> while the u.k. home secretary, has said she is shocked by what she has heard about this case, she says she realize that is the police are still trying to establish the precise facts but she has repeated her determination to stamp out what she described as modern day slavery. new jersey could become the most populated site in the nation to allow online gammenning sites. on a trial run of sorts. more on this, david. >> tony, this is got a lot of the online community budsing. also got a lot of casinos buzzing now that the betting has begun, it marks the biggest expansion in new jersey since casinos began operating legally 35 years ago. new jersey released a list of websites that

past rigorous testing and have been allowed to go live for the next five days. they will conduct what amounts to a system confirmation faze, including gamblers that have been invited to participate. more than 500 people will be allow to try out the online gambling at any one time. really tors want to make sure that they work as they are supposed to, and the payment and verification systems operate smoothly. for example, gamblers must be at least 21, and they must physically be in new jersey in order to play. all of this has set up unusual quirks. they are not sure if the online fence will allow residents who live within a few mile oz if board tore actually use the system. but for anybody that wants to gamble, you will first need to sot up an account.

sit in your pajamas if you want, you just have to provide your legal, name, age, social security number & email address. after you have been approved the system will ask that you fund the account, and again, gamblers do not have to be a resident of new jersey, they just have to be in new jersey. with a computer, tablet, smart phone, and verified account. internet gammabilitying will produce about $1 billion in just the first year. critics charge it will multiply the number of gambling addictions, the problem that often leads a person to financial ruin. nationwide delaware and nevada already have online gambling, however, gambling legislation has been introduced in eight other states and in three of them, california, massachusets, the bills are active, that means lawmakers in those states in particular, will be watching the new jersey experience, and tony, if this works in new jersey, the rapid spread of online gambling is a safe bet. >> i love this from your

piece. the sites are live with a system confirmation phase going on right now. was there a system confirmation phase for healthcare.gov? hmm. >> no, but they probably are not talking about the say kind of gambles. casinos know how to do some of this stuff. >> just saying. appreciate it, david. >> good stuff. >> a twitter #, how about what it feels like to be black at the university of michigan has gone viral. it received over 13,000 tweets from all over the nation. it's called b.b.u.m. being black at the university of michigan. african-american students started tweeter about their experience. this one is from lose cannoning, he says b.b.u.m. is not raising your hand in class because you do not want that black person, who just doesn't get it do

you know someone who lives here when i can't find my m card. bbum is working in study groups and your answer to the question, always require add double check before approval. and students from other universities are weighing in. sounds just like bbuw, being black at university of washington, we went through this as well. and people are also going to this board at university of michigan where they can leave messages, and i will show you one of these, it says you can't simply place a few colorful faces on a pamphlet and call yourself a diverse institution. and felisha allen writes being told you are very articulate by an individual of another race. now i spoke with felisha, she is a second year grad student who told me the changes she and her class makes hope to see at her school.

>> juan something we want to see changed is the number of black students that president karzai admitted. it is good to have people that have the share experienced be enrolled and get an education from a popular university like the university of michigan. and another thing, that we talk about is just having discussions about what it is like to be black at the university of michigan. what are the experiences that we have, those are things we should be able to talk about in class, with other people. so they can have an understanding as well. >> now the university of michigan says it is in a listening mode now, they put out this tweet saying thank you for engaging in this conversation, with relistenning and be sure all of your voices are heard. >> yeah, and that particular cam bus has been litigated in the past.

coming up, two surgeons who faced the futile task of trying to save president kennedy's life share their story. our coverage continues after the break. >> we've heard you talk about the history of suicide in your family. >> there's no status quo, just the bottom line. >> but, what about buying shares in a professional athlete?

>> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong...

>> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america jazeera america.to al lit be 50 years ago tomorrow that president john f kennedy was shot. and taken to parkland memorial hospital in dallas, texas. it is a moment two surgeons have never forgotten. they sat down with al jazeera's heidi joe castro to talk about that fateful day. >> dr.s ronald jones and robert mclen lon were young surgeons at dallas'

parkland memorial hospital. friday, november 22nd, was a day that began like any other, and then just after lunchtime. >> i heard a little tap on the conference room door, the president has been shot, and they are bringing him to the emergency room. is they need doctors right away. >> men in business suited parting the way. i saw mr. kennedy sitting on a folding chair, and i was hear fied to realize that it was just what they had said it was. that the president had been shot. >> president kennedy lay on a gurney, armed spread, eyes open, and covered in blood. >> i couldn't get any sterile gloves open the tray in bare handedly kit a cut down, and got an i.v. going. in his left upper arm. >> dr. mcleal lon was the first to see the head wound. >> the back half of the right side of his brain was gone, and as i stood

there, the cerebellum fell out through the hole on to the cart, so this is obviously a fatal wound, nothing could be done about that. >> dr. jones was ask toddle the news. >> the secret serviceman came up with a badge in his hand, and identifies himself and said i need to call j edgar hoover, and right behind him was secret service, and they said i need to call joseph kennedy and tell him the condition of his son. and right then i realized that joseph kennedy is going to get bad news, the whole world was going to find out that kennedy was dead. >> but in that moment, jones faced a dilemma, jacqueline kennedy had asked doctors to delay the death pronouncement until after her husband received his last rights. >> i told him he was not doing well, but i knew he was dead. >> moments later a priest arrived. >> he said if thou livest, close to the president's left ear, then i couldn't hear him say anything else. >> after that, mrs. kennedy enters the

room. mcleal lon witnessed her farewell to her husband. >> she stood there. very self-contained. stood there for a moment, and exchanged a wring from her finger to the president's finger. and a ring from his finger to her finger. and she leaned over and kissed his right foot, and then walked out of trauma room one. >>less than 48 hours later both doctors would be operating on a dying oswald. the men say they just did their jobs while history unfolded on their operating table. heidi joe castro, al jazeera, dallas. >> and be sure to join us tomorrow here on al jazeera on the 50th anniversary of kennedy's death. there are events scheduled across the country, to honor the life of the fallen president. expect live reports throughout the day here on al jazeera america.

mark morgan is here with a day in sports. let's bring with a update on the alex rodriguez drama. >> my sense is much more litigation. now, remember yesterday the yankees alex rodriguez bolted from his grievance hearing today, his lawyers without a-rod in attendance, wrapped up their case defending rodriguez against mlb's assertions that he took performance enhancing drugs. his attorneys say they will take the case to the federal court. a-rod's teammate retired mariano rivera was asked if the litigation path is the way to go for a-rod, and gave him thoughts on robinson cano, possibly staying with the yankees. >> i don't want to second guess no one. he is my friend, and he taught me something, i am going to listen. i would have done it too. i have to defend --

everybody has to defend themselves. in a situation like that, it is hard. we are human beings. and his blame points to all directions, so i don't think it is right. but again, that's myself. and whatever he does he is a grown up, and he is -- he has the right to defend himself. i want him to do what is right. and what is good for him. if he is not comfortable playing in new york, as similar as that. >> all right, a sweet 12 in the nfl season, and after shocking 0-6 start, the giants are not out of playoff congress tension. the g men face the cowboys in the nbc east

show down. our john henry smith caught one the fort worth star telegram, and asked if the loser could still make the playoffs. >> well, who would have thought even a month ago we would be talking about the giants in this vain. if they win this game, they are tied with the cowboys for second place, and they are a game behind, in the nfc east, these look like teams headed in opposite directions. the giants are faking this game, they are saying this a win or go home. ins our super bowl this week. the cowboys on the other hand are approaching this as oh, it is one of 16. the truth is it is probably more important for the giants but the cowboys certainly need to erase that taste of the 32-point loss that they had in the last outing. >> talk about a marque match up, tom brady, verses payton manning, what do you think? two greatest quarterbacks in nfl history, and if you had to pick one, which one would you pick?

>> well, manning is 37, and brady is 37, and they are in the prime of their careers right now, and we know we don't have much longer to view this relationship between these two guys. it's been fun to watch. that will be the fourth teen match up they have had. brady is 9 and 4. but the case can be made that brady is the greatest quarterback in history, and everything he has done in the regular season. but look at brady in the post season, three champions a case can be made of a very very short list of guys that brady is the greatest all time post season quarterback. how is that for straddling the fence? >> well done, very well done and speaking of the post season, the ravens the super bowl championships they are squarely on the roles to they have a chance? they have a pretty good chance. although they are two and a half chance behind. that doesn't look good. they are scarily in the mix.

the reason is the ravens have missed five of the last seven that's three home games in 15 games. they have a good shot to get this done, if they can win at home. they have been very very good at home under john harbaugh. the broncos certainly hope he can play. >> the hall of fame finalists are out, and looks like they are down to the final 25 in the hall of fame voting give me a lock as far as a player who you think will get in and a player you think will not get in? >> it's really hard until you get into that room, and start hearing the conversations that go on in there. and i am one of the 50 voters for that.

it's have to say it would have walter jones. and i know it's not a very sexy name. but how durable he was, it would have to be walter jones as a lock for me on that list. and a guy that may be left out is michael strahan. i think he is a hall of famer, but when you look at the list and the new commenters he may be left out another year. he will get in, but this may not be his year. >> that was terrific. thank you, today is the day for those of you who keep saying you are going to quit smoking it is the 38th annual great american smoke out. and if you can just go one day without smoking health experts say it can reduce the risk of developing cancer and according to the cancer society smoking tobacco still remains the single largest preventable cause

of disease and premature death in the united states. kevin is up next, with the national forecast, and then it is account real money." >> coming up on real money, bad news for big retailers could turn into good news for you. i will tell you what stories are already doing to get a pete of piece of your wallet. plus, an incubator that hatches young entrepreneurs we are talking to two of them, all that and more on real money. this is the 900-page document we call obamacare. my staff has read the entire thing. can congress say the same?

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>> 14-degrees in denver colorado right now, it is ex-treatmently cold. but you can see where that cold air lies. as well as nebraska and unfortunately, we will be dealing with this pool of cold air for several days because it is on the move. let's take a look at the forecast maps on friday. it originated out of canada before that it was up towards alaska. that will be making its way down towards the southeast.

this is another shot, it is colder than the previous one, this is scenario saturday, things along the earn seaboard are not looking too bad. so we will be seeing nicer conditions here. that will be it though. on saturday, enjoy it because on sunday, that moves in, as well as some windy conditions with the circulation is counter clock wide, and that is going to mean we will be seeing some windy conditions and it will feel like below average temperatures. a little bit milder so this is what we are expected to see. you notice as the front pushes through, the temperatures really drop, we are expecting a low temperature of 13 degrees, here in new york, sunday, possibly snow, we don't expect that snow to stay on the ground it's not going to be that cold, the wind chill will be cold, but it won't be that bad.

as we go towards the beginning of next week, those temperatures begin to warm up. let's take a look into the future. a lot of people will be traveling next wednesday, it is one of the biggest travel days of the year, unfortunately the earn seaboard doesn't look so good right now. big problem there, up towards carolinas, now when it comes to the northeast, we are right on the edge. will we have problems at j.f.k., we don't know yet. it all depends on where this area goes. if it goes more towards the east, things will be okay up here. if it doesn't that mean as lot of bad weather on the earn seaboard. things looking quite nice. cold iranian towards north, this shouldn't cause any ml any problems t the airport. your headlines are tony are up next.

♪ i'm tony harris with a look at today's hop stories. usualing his countries leaders to approve a security agreement with the u.s., despite his comments that there is mistrust on both sides. if the deal approved some troops could stay in afghanistan past -- make that 16 senators. say they want to increase sanctions on iran as soon as possible. meanwhile six nations are trying to get iran to roll back it's nuclear program, increasing sanctions is one of the bargaining chips. by approving the biggest rule change in decades. democrats invoke the so called nuclear option, revising filib